August 10, 2010

Today was a turtle neck, two sweatshirts, jacket, long john pants, jeans, hat and gloves kind of day. But then we did get up, up anchor and motor away from the bay at Tadoussac at 0400 in the morning. Again it was a matter of getting moving before we had to fight tide and current. Everyone tells us that once we get past Rimouski the tide and current won't be an issue any more. Anyway, since we are north of the Twin Cities in latitude and on a cold waterway like Lake Superior, it isn't surprising that it is cold at that time of the morning and until much later in the day when the sun has some time to warm things up.

We saw several gams of small whales as we moved away from Tadoussac and worked our way to the southern shore of the river. It was foggy part of the day. Sometimes we could only see a couple of boat lengths ahead and at other times it was mostly what they call sea smoke and we could see much farther. But with our radar, chart plotter, and the AIS system (it recognizes the mandatory signals that commercial ships must send out and locates the ships on our electronic charts) it was an easy motor. As it got later in the morning we could see the land on both sides of the river. The sea was at times like glass and there was no wind the entire time we were motoring.

We arrived here at Rimouski at 1115 but when we called in they said it was still low enough tide that we should be careful coming in through the marked channel. I told them that we weren't comfortable coming in then and that we would just sit outside for awhile and let the tide rise some more. Having gone aground a couple of times this trip we weren't interested in trying it again, especially when the weather and seas were so benign and we could just float for awhile.

By 1230 we were on our way into the marina and after filling up with diesel and getting the head pumped we took our spot on the end of the dock. Having such a big boat can be a blessing at times. They usually give us the end of the docks, or a sea wall where it is very easy to get into or out of. That is nice for us because some of these marinas have fairly narrow fairways between the lines of boats in slips and maneuvering is quite a challenge with Eos in those small places.

With our early start it was time for an afternoon nap after getting Eos all tied down and taken care of. Then it was get on the internet - with a little difficulty but when I called the service and connected with Michael, "the System God", it didn't take long. We have certainly met and connected with the nicest people along the way. After I did some banking, etc., it was time for supper on board. Remember the diesel fill? $$$

As we did in Quebec we have people who know people. Joyce and Carl Birdie told us to be sure and call their friends, Louis Hebert and Camille Demars who live here. I called and left a message after supper and told them we had decided to stay an extra day and hoped we could meet them.

August 11, 2010

After a very peaceful sleep and a late start, I was up sitting in the cockpit with my coffee and a book while Bill slept a little longer. All of a sudden I heard my name and there were Louis (who luckily is on vacation right now) and Camille. They had gotten our message last night and come down to meet us and see if we needed a grocery run or anything.

What a delightful couple! Thank you, Carl and Joyce, for the introduction. Bill and Louis hit it right off as soon as they started talking boats and Camille is so interesting to talk to. She and I had a long conversation about their recent trip to Cuba. Oh, I hope things open pretty soon and we will be able to sail there one of these years.

Soon it was time for that trip to the IGA and Walmart for a few things. On the way, we stopped at the Quebec Marine Institute where Louis works. Louis took us on a fascinating tour of his area where they train sailors in emergency deep sea submarine evacuation and recovery for submariners. Louis is a sailing instructor as well and I am sure a diving instructor. The Institute has a school for naval architects, a separate section that specializes in training people in marine biology and maritime conservation as well as a couple of more disciplines. It is small but obviously very effective.

We came back to the boat to put things away and so I could write this blog. I had planned to post photos but didn't have time before Louis and Camille returned to join us for dinner at the nice restaurant here at the marina. Louis brought us charts that Carl and Joyce Birdie had just sent back to him. He has now loaned them to us for the trip to Cape Breton. Camille gave us a bag of books to take along and then drop at the marinas along the way. We are short on books and all of them here are in French. We had a very lovely meal and wonderful conversation. What a joy it is to meet such fine and helpful people. And so we are off early tomorrow to Sainte-Anne-des Monts.